Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

🌟 Editor’s Note:

Welcome to Behind the Books! A 3-minute read with stories, tools, and lessons from real companies—what worked, what didn’t, and what founders can learn.

🧺 The Story:

Everyone’s chasing the next big thing.

The AI tool. The viral product. The “if we just launched X, we’d scale” kind of idea.

But the truth? Most great businesses don’t start big.

They start with something small done uncommonly well.

Meet Hyacinth Tucker.

She was an Army vet, living in Maryland, just trying to make ends meet.

One day, a friend asked if she could do some laundry. She charged $20. Nothing fancy. Just a clean load, folded and returned.

But something clicked.

Hyacinth realized there were thousands of people just like her friend—busy, overwhelmed, and willing to pay for laundry done right.

So she turned that $20 favor into a business.

Today, her company processes over 7,000 pounds of laundry a month. She hires and trains team members. And she’s started an institute to help underserved workers build careers in laundry and dry cleaning.

No viral launch. No investor deck. Just a deep understanding of a problem and the courage to go all in.

The Lesson:

Your next big thing probably isn’t big. It’s something simple you already do better than most.

That’s your edge. Start there.

From Behind the Books:

Most people wait for the perfect idea. But momentum usually comes from doubling down on what’s already working.

Small bets. Done well. Backed by consistency.

Your weekly prompt:

What’s one thing people already ask you for help with? That might be your $20 bet.

See you next Friday,

– Yan

P.S. Know someone sitting on a skill they’re overlooking? Forward this to them.